Ruin of Dragons

by Clay Kronke

  "I figured," Aris said. "But do me a favor and hold off any offensive against Avernus itself, we're going to try an insertion."

  "That's a bad idea," Frakes said. "And I can't make any promises. If this thing goes sideways, I'm blowing it out of the sky."

  "No arguments there," Aris said, "but I'd rather end this with minimal casualties." He flew in closer and angled upward, aiming for a spot directly above the platform. "We don't know how many people on that thing are uninvolved. It could be full saturation, but it might also just be a handful of people hijacking an orbital." He reached the spot he wanted and hovered, hoping that with all the ship activity surrounding them, he would go unnoticed. "Just try and give us as much time as you can. Besides, you'll need everything you've got once the dragons are launched. There are hundreds of specimens on board and we don't know how many they're planning to use."

  Frakes scoffed, and Aris could imagine her rolling her eyes. "They brought their entire orbital, I think it's safe to assume there'll be a damn lot of them. Did you bring backup?"

  "Sort of," he said. "I've got Kingsguard ships on the way, but I don't know how many will make it here in time. And we have a way to round up the dragons once the signal has been severed." He paused, exhaling. "But if we can't do that, then you'll need to blow it out of the sky."

  "Understood," Frakes said. "And you?"

  Aris checked his sensors. There was still no sign of approaching ships. "Once I drop my payload," he said, "I can be wherever you need me."

  "Copy that," Frakes said. There was a pause on her end as it sounded like someone else was talking to her. A few seconds later her voice came back, sounding tense. "Whatever you're about to do, though, do it quickly. We're getting energy spikes from the outer ring of the orbital."

  Aris grimaced. "That's hangar bays and dragon storage. Time's up."

  "All right, keep me apprised. Good luck."

  Aris nodded. "You too," he said. "Cobalt out." He turned to his side monitor and slapped at the intercom. "Hope you guys are ready back there, because we're almost up." He brought his heads-up online and increased the scale so all ships present were on the display. The wide disc that was Avernus dominated the space, with a tiny Verminthrax sitting directly above it. Three green blips were overlayed, representing Mira, Gareth, and Petra, who were currently sitting back in the hold.

  But a fourth green blip had also appeared, sitting in a lower level of the orbital's inner ring. Aris frowned, touching the indicator on his screen to bring up the transponder ID. "I'll be damned," he said, opening the intercom channel again. "Guys, we might have an added wrinkle," he swallowed. "Voss is on Avernus."

  • • •

  Kale sat on a six-foot white metal bench that jutted out from the wall in an otherwise empty square room. A single band of light cut down from the ceiling, and the door was an intimidating slab of thick blast armor. "That's not going to work," he grumbled.

  Voss was sitting cross-legged on the floor next to the door. She had managed to pry open a small maintenance panel near the floor, and a tangle of wires were now trailing out of the hole. "Would you prefer to punch the door until it submits?" she asked, not looking up. She held a small knife she had procured from a hidden pocket in her boot that she was using to strip the wiring coming out of the main conduit.

  "I mean," Kale continued, "they wouldn't allow a structural weakness to be accessible from inside the cell. That's not sound design."

  "Normally, you'd be right," Voss said. "But this is different."

  "What, you're a better engineer than the shipbuilders?" Kale said.

  Voss looked up at him, her mouth a hard line. "Hardly," she said. "I am, however, better informed. This particular line of blast doors has an excellent reputation for being tamper resistant."

  "That's not encouraging," Kale interjected.

  "Except I'm not attempting to tamper with the door," Voss pointed, returning to the cables. "The power supply, on the other hand…"

  "Won't it just lock down in a power failure?

  Voss took a breath. "Again, normally you'd be right," she said. "But that's not what I'm doing."

  Kale rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry I asked."

  "Almost … got it." Voss took the two wires she had stripped and held the contacts close to each other. "We'll see if this works." She touched the contacts together, then immediately yanked her hands back as sparks flew and an arc of electricity snapped outward to her hands. "Ow."

  "I told you," Kale said, smug.

  Voss looked sideways at him. "I'm not finished," she said, biting out each syllable. She sat back, examining her hand, flexing her fingers and shaking them out a bit. After a minute, she slid forward again and was about to pull more wires out of the conduit when her earpiece crackled.

  "Wasp, what's your status?" Mira's voice came across.

  Voss stood up. "Still alive!" she said, her eyes wide, a grin spreading across her face.

  Kale looked up at her, confused. "What?" he said.

  Voss shook her head, pointing to her ear and mouthed the word communicator. "It's really good to hear your voice again, blondie." she continued.

  "You have no idea," Mira said. "When Vorsk said you never made it back, I was a mess. Are you all right?"

  Voss shrugged. "I'm not hurt, except for maybe my pride. Kale and I got nabbed coming off of Frakes' ship. It looked like more of whoever tried to ambush us on Vorsk, but we can't tell who it is, everyone's in helmets and the armor isn't familiar." She frowned. "And they're apparently in a rush. We weren't given more than a cursory pat down, it was insulting."

  "Explains why you still have your comm," Mira said. "Do you know where you are now?"

  Voss shook her head, looking up at the ceiling. "We were shuffled into a holding cell on an orbital platform or carrier of some kind," she said. "Didn't see much of it but it's the same make as Avernus, it's got a similar corridor pattern."

  "Yeah, about that…" Mira's voice started.

  "Don't tell me it's Avernus or—"

  "It is."

  "I will kick you in the face," Voss said. "What happened?"

  "Long story," Mira said. "Frakes was right, the Sanctuary is full of terrorists, and Avernus is sitting above Pyriom about to drop its collection of dragons on an unsuspecting Republic."

  Voss took a step back. "Hahahaha what?"

  "I'll fill you in later. How soon can you be ready to travel?"

  Voss looked down at the mess of wires. "Might be a bit, we're locked up pretty tight."

  "All right," Mira said. "I'll be in touch again when we get there, we're loading up now."

  "Don't worry, we'll sit tight," Voss said. "We've got our part to play, after all. Even if that part is scapegoat. Be safe."

  "You too. Veil out."

  Voss closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. When she opened them, a wry smile lit up her face and she felt reenergized for the first time in days. She sat back down and pulled a different cable, stripping it down to the bare wire. "All right, let's try this one more time…"

  "Thought you said we'd be here a while," Kale said.

  "That was for the benefit of anyone else who might be listening. Besides, if you knew anything about me, you'd know…" She took one of the wires she had already stripped and held it out, bringing the newly stripped wire alongside and touching them to each other. "I don't sit tight."

  There was a spark, the lights flickered momentarily, and a heavy click sounded from the door frame. Voss stood up, found an edge in the door paneling with her fingertips, and pulled the door open without a sound.

  Kale looked impressed. "That's a neat trick."

  Voss grinned. "Power surge overloads the magnetic lock," she said. "Come on, our ride's on the way."

  • • •

  "She okay?" Gareth asked as he climbed up onto the dragon's back and attempt
ed to settle in behind where Petra was already perched, just above the shoulder blades at the base of the neck.

  "Yes, thank the gods," Mira said, clear relief both in her voice and on her face. "She and Kale are in a holding cell, though I don't expect them to stay in it for long. Are we ready?"

  Gareth shifted where he sat, visibly uncomfortable. "Maybe?" he said. "Never ridden a dragon before."

  "You won't have to for very long," Mira said, pulling on her own gloves and sealing them to her wrist cuffs. She then turned to Petra. "How about you? Are you ready?"

  Petra nodded, but there was uncertainty on her face. "I think so."

  Mira stepped closer, her voice soft. "No one's forcing you to do this."

  "I know," Petra said. "But I need to. She said I would be safe with her."

  Mira shifted her gaze to the dragon, who inclined her head down toward the elf. "This is very surreal," Mira admitted, looking Lirwe in the eyes. "I don't yet know what to think about all of this, about you. I'm having to readjust what I know about dragons as a species, and it's difficult." She cringed. "I'm used to dealing with you as an adversary, or at best a force of nature. Please be patient with me if I don't immediately treat you with the consideration you deserve."

  A long moment passed as the dragon seemed to consider this, then Petra smiled. "She says that's very diplomatic of you."

  Mira nodded. "I know we're all on the same side," she continued to Lirwe, nodding toward Petra. "But she's an innocent in all this. Whatever happens, please try to keep her safe."

  Lirwe held Mira's gaze for another moment, then nodded her head.

  "Thank you," Mira said.

  "You don't have anything to worry about," Petra added.

  Mira turned back to Petra. "Now, you need a callsign. There's only four positions on an extraction team, so we'll have to make one up for you. I'm Veil, he's Lure. Voss, when we find her, is Wasp, and Aris is Castle. You can be…" Her brow creased as she thought.

  "Stork," Petra suggested. "It was Bran's nickname for me."

  Mira nodded. "That works. Castle?"

  "I heard," Aris's voice came across. "Let's get you three on the deck, shall we? We're getting energy spikes from their launch bays, so we're running out of time."

  "Copy that," Mira said. "Stand by." She reached back and unclipped a circular mass from a plate between her shoulder blades. She pressed a button and several interleaved sections unfolded, snapping into shape and forming a helmet. She put it on, a flexible cuff at the bottom extending down to seal along the collar of her environment suit. Petra and Gareth did the same, Petra fumbling a bit with hers. Gareth helped with the seal at her collar, and they were set.

  Mira turned to face Petra, her eyes visible through a clear horizontal slice. "All right," she said. "Just hang on to me. It should only be a few minutes before we're inside, but there will likely be resistance once we're in. Avernus isn't a military installation, so it won't have the same built-in security measures, but there will be troops. We'll be trying to avoid them, but if you stick close to Lirwe, you should be fine. If there are obstacles, let her clear the way."

  Petra nodded. "Understood."

  "Good." Mira turned and faced front again. "We have our objectives. Castle? We're ready for the drop."

  "Copy that," Aris's voice came across. "Depressurizing now." A red light started to flash, and there was a hissing sound as the oxygen began venting from the hold. Another minute, and Aris's voice piped up again. "On my mark. Three, two, one—"

  "Showtime," Mira breathed.

  The bay door beneath them snapped open, and Petra felt her stomach lurch as the dragon dropped, pulling them down out of the ship. She gasped, confronted for the first time with the enormity of upper atmospheric space. She was aware that space continued on infinitely but looking up into the night sky did nothing to prepare her for the sheer scale surrounding her. They were miles above the surface of the planet, and Petra could see the curvature of the horizon on all sides as it dropped away from her. She could make out land masses on the surface, surrounded by bodies of water, could see the mottled green of the natural landscapes and the grays and browns of populated areas, vast stretches of gridded patchwork that had no discernable edge as they dissolved into the surrounding landscape. She could see mountain ranges and patches of cloud cover, but from this height everything looked as flat as a painting, and she had a hard time wrapping her brain around the unfathomable height they were all sitting at.

  Even so, she noticed that she oddly didn't have any of the same fear or nausea that normally gripped her when looking out over a great height, and she wondered if it was because the difference was still so staggeringly unreal to her. Presuming that it would eventually catch up with her, she tightened her grip and concentrated on where they were headed.

  Looking down, she could see the enormous circular shape that was Avernus beneath them. Surrounding it on all sides were a myriad of much smaller ships, many of them mere pinpricks of silver hanging in space. Everything seemed frozen, and presented a deceptive tranquility that Petra knew wouldn't last.

  Aris's voice cut into the silence, alarm in his tone. "Shields are dropping! Stay sharp!"

  As Petra watched, a wave of fighters launched from the outer bays, heading outward toward the waiting Republic forces. None of the Sanctuary ships seemed to notice them, however, and after another minute they finally reached the top edge of the orbital and set down just above one of the outer bays. Mira pulled out her handheld and brought up schematics for the station's layout, a green blip showing where they were. They needed to make sure they were entering the bay closest to the cryo storage entrance.

  Mira turned back to Petra, pointing to the right. "That way," she said. Petra nodded, and without prompting, Lirwe turned and started that direction. Mira kept an eye on her display, and when they reached the appropriate bay, she held up a hand for halt. They sidled up to the edge, looking down. They could see the wide rectangular opening of the hangar, flanked on either side by twin swivel-mounted cannons.

  "We need to sneak in along the top of the bay, cling to the ceiling," Mira said. "We'll be out of the cannons' visual range, and we can most likely blend in with the support beams and hydraulic systems in the upper gantries."

  Petra nodded, and Lirwe proceeded to crawl toward the edge, lowering her body until she was slinking like a lizard. Her claws sunk into the metal of the hull with little effort, and she made no sound as she moved down along the edge of the bay opening, slipped in at the upper corner and hugged the edge of the space, keeping behind the outer gantries. Gravity increased as they came inside the bay, and Petra felt her stomach lurch again as she found herself hanging from the ceiling of the hangar. Disoriented, she closed her eyes and waited for them to get to the point where they were right side up again.

  "No one in the monitor station right now," she heard Mira's voice say. Another minute and their orientation changed, and Petra could feel herself leaning forward. She opened her eyes and saw they were scaling down the back wall of the hangar, just this side of an observation platform that protruded out from the back of the bay. Underneath the monitor station was a wide doorway that emptied out into a bright white corridor.

  They reached the bottom and Lirwe detached from the wall and settled nimbly onto the floor. She slunk through the doorway into the corridor, which was a wide, curving throughway leading to the rest of the hangar bays and the residential quarters, with the main cryo storage bay directly across from them.

  "This is where we get off," Mira said, retracting her hooks and dismounting neatly to the floor. Petra and Gareth followed, and all three removed their helmets, collapsing them and reattaching them to their shoulder plates.

  "There's not a lot of people around," Gareth said, looking down the deserted hallway. "Must've emptied the place out."

  "Better for us," Mira said, turning to Petra. "Entrance to cr
yo is down that corridor." She pointed to the nearest crossway. "Monitoring station is through the first set of double doors. We'll meet back here as soon as we can. If we can't, find your way off the ship. We'll stay in contact."

  "Got it," Petra nodded.

  "Good luck," Gareth said.

  "You too," Petra said, watching as Gareth and Mira started down the long corridor. She then turned to Lirwe. "Well, let's see what we've got."

  Petra made her way down the side corridor with Lirwe right behind. Reaching the double doors, she keyed the entry and stepped through onto a platform that ran the length of the cryo bay. It was an immense chamber, several levels deep, with an intricate system of racks holding countless cryo tubes. Half of the tubes looked empty, and a row of occupied units near the end were being fed onto a conveyor system that was transporting them out to a lower chamber.

  She looked up at Lirwe, who was taking in the sight of hundreds of her kind lying dormant. It was impossible to read her expression, but she could feel the dragon's anger welling up within her.

  Look for controls, Lirwe said. This ends today.

  • • •

  "You've got fighters incoming," Aris said as he angled Vermithrax down toward the wave of Sactuary ships advancing on the Republic forces.

  "We see them," Frakes said. "Alpha group, Sigma group, move in. Try to draw them away from Kriton."

  As Aris dropped down behind the wave of fighters, his thermal proximity alert pinged. Checking his rear monitor, he could see a large group of dragons drop from Avernus's lower holds, lancing downward toward the planet below.

  "The fighters are a cover," Aris said. "I'll see what I can do."

  "Where are your reinforcements?" Frakes asked.

  "On their way," Aris said, hoping he was right. "Keep them busy."

  He increased power to his engines, heading down to try and catch up to the first wave of dragons. He overtook them, circled around and got in one's way, but instead of it breaking off and engaging with him as he would have expected, it simply moved around him, continuing toward the planet. He tried again, this time physically colliding with the creature, but it didn't even seem to realize Aris was there, and after another second was once again back on course.